Welcome Message

The Miguel Torga Higher Institute (ISMT) is one of the oldest private university-level higher education institutions in Portugal, with more than eight decades of existence (having begun its activity in 1937). It is part of the national Portuguese higher education system and is recognized as a public utility institution.

Its mission is the creation, transmission, and dissemination of culture and science, as well as fostering the conditions for the development of research, always from a perspective of development and enrichment of both the individual and the community.

ISMT operates within the framework of private and cooperative higher education and is also an accredited training institution.

We offer a broad and attractive range of educational programs (undergraduate degrees, postgraduate programs, master’s degrees, specialization courses, among others), which enable our students to engage with the professional world, either through multiple partnerships or through the completion of internships.

Our educational offer already covers several academic degrees and areas of knowledge, such as Audiovisuals and Communication, Business Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Informatics.

Who are we?

We have invested in the qualification of our teaching staff, as well as in the training of our non-teaching employees, thus enabling the formation of a creative, critical, and innovative body of teachers and staff.

What are we like?

Demanding in building the present and impatient for the future.

Why are we who we are?

Because we want to contribute to the creation of a strong and consistent critical mass, and because we aim to give substance to an innovative teaching project adapted to the demands of the labor market.

And because the new millennium is based on quality, this is our greatest commitment, confident that ISMT is the place where the future has already begun!

ISMT, with over 80 years of history, aims to consolidate its position as a leading higher education institution, complementing tradition with innovation and dynamism.

As its main objectives, and in accordance with its Statutes, ISMT is dedicated to providing education and promoting research, establishing itself as a center for the creation, transmission, and dissemination of culture and science. Its purposes include human, cultural, social, and technical education; the conduct of research; the provision of services to the community from a perspective of mutual enrichment; scientific, technical, and cultural exchange with similar local, national, and foreign institutions; and contribution, within its scope of activities, to international cooperation and to fostering closer relations between peoples, with particular emphasis on Portuguese-speaking countries and European countries.

Taking into account the nature of ISMT and its objectives, the Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Project of ISMT is developed around several priority axes and is closely linked (and articulated) with the institution’s Strategic Plan. All ISMT Bodies/Departments/Services are involved in this process.

The first axis focuses on teaching and research as fundamental elements of university education, oriented toward offering solid scientific training combined with a strong research component.

In this context, emphasis should be placed on the strategy of diversifying areas of study, with the development of new fields of knowledge, particularly in the areas of new technologies and business sciences.

On the other hand, special attention is given to research and scientific production, with the creation of a Research & Development Department, the publication of two scientific journals, and a policy aimed at encouraging research and increasing scientific output.

Also noteworthy is ISMT’s connection with CEPESE (a research center accredited by the FCT), as a collective member, as well as the creation, in 2014, of the annual Miguel Torga Higher Institute Research Award.

Another very important axis of ISMT’s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Project concerns the link between teaching/research and the provision of services to the community.

To this end, several psychological support offices have been created and are open to the community.

A large number of Cooperation Protocols have been established with a wide range of institutions, particularly in the context of joint projects and internships, demonstrating the creation of an extensive national and international cooperation network.

The existence of high-quality education associated with research, scientific production, and the provision of services to the community is only achievable through a strong commitment to the training and qualification of human resources. This represents another axis defined in ISMT’s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Project. Currently, the institution has its own teaching staff, adequate in number, qualified and specialized, and mostly composed of faculty members holding a doctoral degree.

To ensure the quality of the education provided, mechanisms of self-assessment have been developed and implemented, combined with the implementation of a Quality Assessment System, which led to the creation of a Quality and Innovation Department.

Finally, to complete the reference to the main guiding axes of ISMT’s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Project, mention should be made of the internationalization strategy, in which the International Relations Office plays an important role.